One of the important features
that Adobe Systems added to Photoshop 4.0 was Actions and its availability
is continued with the current version of the program. Photoshop Actions
are "macros" or lists ofinstru...

How would you like to get a really good image manipulation program for free? I'm not talking about the ubiquitous Mac OS freeware program, NIH Image 1.61, that can be downloaded from www.shareware.com...

This new column in Shutterbug will introduce you to a new photographic or digital imaging web site each month. Some of the sites you will see are created by companies and others by individuals, but all will provide the kind of practical information that...

The tale of The Ugly Duckling is a Danish fable but perhaps has some resonance with the Dutch. WJ's Photo Homepage originates in The Netherlands and while it contains the most extensive collection of information about infrared photography I've...

“Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.”—Ambrose Bierce

The second question readers ask when they meet me (the first is how to pronounce my name) is where do I get the quotations that kick off this column? I collect them from various sources, including reader submissions, and have an affinity for the sarcastic and witty, which is why writers...

Clearly one of the most significant advantages of digital capture is that you get to see the results now! There’s no waiting; it’s instant gratification. Nowhere is this more important than when selecting a background for studio photography, even if your studio, like mine, is a temporary basement setup.

Photographic umbrellas are the simplest and most inexpensive form of light modifier available and that makes them the most popular, too. Photographic umbrellas look and act just like rain umbrellas except they’re reflective and light is bounced into or shot through them, creating a big, soft light source that’s aimed at the subject. And size does matter. As photographers we live by a few important lighting rules: the closer and larger a light source is to a subject, the softer the lighting effect will be. Conversely, the smaller and further away a light source is from the subject, the harder the lighting becomes. That old lighting rule that “size matters” is important here because a large umbrella is going to produce broader, softer light for your portraits.

I have been using Westcott's light banks and umbrellas for glamour, fashion, and portraiture almost since the company entered the photographic business and have always been impressed by their quality and value. Previously I used their rugged and flexible Spiderlite family of hot and cold continuous lighting products and now they've introduced a line of monolights built...

In January I featured the work of Thomas Lee (www.thomasleephoto.com) in this column and while researching for this month, I came across the outstanding work of Ralph Lee. This coincidence got me to thinking: why not have an entire Web Profiles featuring photographers named “Lee,” a surname derived from Old English leah or meadow. The most interesting part of my search was discovering that these photographers are a diverse lot, stylistically and geographically, even though they all have the same surname. I’ve introduced them here in alphabetical order with Jeff Lee last as the custom for “Blog-of-the-Month.”